Works-boasting Is Wrong But Faith-boasting Isn't?

Just last week a student's grandma came with her to a bible study I was leading. When one of the other students started to go in the direction of earning our salvation through good works, the grandma immediately turned to Ephesians 2:8-9 to correct the heretical student. Every good protestant knows these verses: “For it is by grace you have been saved, not by works; it is a gift of God so that no one can boast.” Salvation comes from Jesus' merit alone, not ours.

So far so good.

But the problem I have noticed is that this group of anti-boasters has become well – boastful. Not boastful in the sense that they slip into a works-righteous mentality too, but that they become boastful of the fact that they “believed in faith” and everyone else hasn't. They start thinking that this “work of the heart” in turning around and trusting in Christ was their doing, not God's.

When we talk about when we decided to “trust in Christ” isn't there always a hint of “I looked at the options and the facts from the bible and made a good logical decision?” Don't we tend to think that we came to God and not that God came to us?

Why does this matter?

If we start to think that we came to faith in Christ through our own intelligent decision-making process, then we will start to judge others and make war against non-Christians. We will begin to feel self-righteous since we made a “duh” decision to follow God and that everyone else needs to follow in our footsteps.

The problem is that yelling at a blind person won't make them see. However, if we walk up to the blind, take a hold of their hand, and pray to God with all our might that He would open their eyes, then I think we'll start to reach the world as God intended. Realizing that God is the only one who can make the blind see (us included) is the only way to true humility.

Hopefully, as faith-boasting Christians begin to boast in Jesus and not in their “decision for Christ” we'll start to have more compassion on those around us and in the culture at large. I'm pretty tired of seeing “faith-boasters” wage war against the culture. They need a dose of their own depravity.

Finding the Narrow Path: Part 2

NARROW IS RISKY

Venturing onto the narrow path is risky business. Since most people will continue to walk in the other direction, leaving this big path means that you will be leaving a lot behind. In some cases, you’ll be leaving your entire family behind. In other cases, it is leaving your material possessions, your friends, your false beliefs, your comfort, your ability to be cool. This is all done with the kind of faith that says that the narrow path will eventually lead to bigger and better things.

Here are some ways to help you measure whether or not you’ve actually left the wide road and entered onto the narrow risky road of faith:

1) What comes out your mouth? Is it the same type of things that come out of everybody else’s mouth? Slander, gossip, complaining, etc.?

2) Do you know God? Not, do you know about God. But do you know who he is, what he wants, what he likes/dislikes? Are you merely hearing God through other people, or are you hearing from him yourself?

3) What do you give your money to? Jesus says that where your money is, that is where your heart is also. I’m not talking about just giving money to your pastor. What about the injustices in your city or in the world? Paying a pastor or missionary is great, but is that all God cares about?

If you are a little nervous after reading this short list, then you might be tempted to go out and do these things. But, I have bad news. The list is much longer than this. Trying to complete the checklist is a futile pursuit.

The goal isn’t to go out and do more things for God, it is to become the type of person who desires to do these things.

And that desire can only come from God.

People on the narrow path aren’t the ones with the biggest resumes, but they are the ones who know God intimately, not intellectually - and their lives bear much fruit because of it.

They fully realize what God has done for them in Christ and therefore have unlimited access to resurrection power - the only power that will bear spiritual fruit.